Transcript:
9/11 is a 2017 film directed by Martin Guigui. starring Charlie Sheen, Gina Gershon, Luis Guzman, Wood Harris and Whoopie Goldberg.
It follows the interactions and experiences of a small group of people trapped in an elevator in the North Tower of the World Trade Centre during the terrorist attacks (which is what they absolutely and categorically were) of September 11, 2001. So please join me, if you will, in my learned review of 9/11.
Well, let me begin by saying that this is a delightful and nuanced film that tells a small personal story of a group of characters without entertaining the distasteful and unscrupulous conspiracy theories that are often associated with the larger story of 9/11.
It's quite literally a breath of fresh air -- ironic given that they are trapped in an elevator - and especially given some of the so-called "documentary" films that are perfidiously distributed on the internet.
I'm compelled to say that if one could conjure the emotion of the events that unfolded that day, one might conclude that it should have caused quite a measure of trauma to the psyche of the masses.
It's appalling to think that any group or organisation considered it necessary to inflict such tragedy in order to affect the thinking of the masses.
But that's not the focus of the film, no not at all. In fact the terrorist attacks of 9/11 are but a backdrop to the character study that is front and centre of the film.
Not only does the film wisely avoid any contradiction of the trustworthy official narrative of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but it manages to focus on its characters and their unique conflicts and disagreements. The film is, for wont of a better term, one of class warfare in an elevator. And of course, I'm not one to discourage a bit of healthy debate amongst the different classes, hehe!
In the elevator, we have the five main characters, a group of unlikely and non-typical individuals from varying economic backgrounds and classes. You have:
- The young, attractive professional girl who has wisely agreed to align herself to a wealthy, and one would presume older, gentleman.
- The African American delivery man, who expresses unfounded distaste for Pakistanis and Filipinos. Who would have thought a person of color could be the racist, eh? Delightfully original!
- The Puertorican father who still somehow gets to do all the hard work despite being the least athletic member of the group. They really are terrible good workers, are they not?
- The stubborn and ungrateful ex-wife who continues to resist her husband, despite the fact that all he ever did was attempt to provide for her and their children.
- And then we have Charlie Sheen's character of Jeffrey Cage, a thoroughly likeable self-made entrepreneur, who has not only found modest wealth within a single iteration of his family lineage, but is also refined and honourable, and also proves to be quite heroic by the end of the narrative.
You'll find this typical of the upper class, and it's a refreshing sea change to locate a film that stands up for the common billionaire, as we do tend to endure an excessive allocation of public criticism.
It would be remiss of me to continue without mentioning the genius casting of Charlie Sheen in the lead role. The once adamant, but now thoroughly discredited, conspiracy theorist has finally acquiesced to the more reasoned narrative provided by the credible mainstream media.
If there were some kind of shadowy conspiracy afoot on 9/11, I'm certain the free press would have seen fit to report it to the public at large. I must admit I do find it utterly delightful that Charlie Sheen has seen fit to "eat crow" so to speak; to realise the error of his ways and submit to realignment of his previously egregious thoughts and paranoid whimsy.
But the real power of this film is not the casting or the setting, but the astute observations it makes about the upper class and our natural propensity toward altruism and heroic deeds.
Of course, I'm not one to get emotionally entangled in mere dramatic entertainments, but I must admit the speech made by Jeffrey Cage's wife pointing out the hard work and dedication required to obtain even a small assembly of financial wealth, may have left one a little choked up, should one have an inclination to such base emotional reactions.
The ending goes on to reinforce this idea, and exemplifies how heroic the corporate upper class can be. Like Al Gore sacrificing everything for carbon taxes -- to fight climate change, mind you -- or Bill Gates exterminating poor people -- from the tragic fate of a Polio infestation.
With great wealth becomes great responsibility, and you can never know that weight until it is thrust upon you.
So we are heroes. And what we do is heroic. If you really understood our unenviable position in society, you would likely refrain from begrudging us any modest profit we might have earned on the side.
Now if you'll excuse me, I have one particularly unenviable chore to accomplish before the evening is concluded. I hope you'll permit me leave until the subsequent instalment of Elite Reviews, residing right here on the Popcorn Lobotomy channel...